Top 3 SEO Metrics to Track in 2018

Sharayu Thakare11/29/2017

Top 3 SEO Metrics to Track in 2018

SEO is a complex science. The ever-changing rules of the SEO game can make marketers crazy. To most of the Search Engine Optimizers, and, we aren’t talking about just the novices, the prospect of higher rankings is iffy. This uncertain feeling is always nagging.

Tracking the results is the only way to know whether your efforts were worth it or not. These results appear like an oasis in the desert acting like a reward for the hard work.

But, this oasis can easily turn into a mirage if you don’t track the right metrics. So, we made a list of the three most important SEO metrics to track in 2018.

SEO Metrics #1: Keyword Ranking

What is Keyword Ranking?

The simple answer to this question is:

Keyword Ranking is a metric that measures your search engine position for targeted keywords.

This metric not only measures but also analyzes changes in the Keyword Ranking over a period of time. When it comes to search engine marketing, this is the stereotypical KPI an SEO person must not risk ignoring. It exhibits the capability of your website at getting ranked on Google and attracting organic traffic. Though the first three links in the search results receive the most clicks, it is obvious that the first link is ‘the most clicked link.’ Tracking the Keyword Ranking KPI can help you get there.

How can you track Keyword Rankings?

You can use both free and paid tools for tracking this metric. These tools help you get daily, weekly, and monthly reports. Plus, you see accurate rankings for all major search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo! They also provide you with features such as filtering your data and competitive analysis to improve your visibility.

According to Neil Patel, though keyword traffic is just 9% of the total traffic to your website, it helps us learn a few important things:

Whether you’re targeting the right keywords

If your blog posts aren’t ranking for their target keywords, you need to target less competitive keywords for the time being. If the competition for a particular keyword is between medium to low and the average monthly searches between 100-1,000 searches, chances are you can get higher rankings. Again, there is a possibility and rankings may change every single day.

Whether you’re growing over time

All keywords should slowly improve in rank as you gain back links and your site becomes more trusted. If not, something is wrong with your SEO plan. To know what increases your bounce rate or what converts leads into paying customers, you will want to read the Part II of this blog or contact Convirza!

A quick tip:

According to Google’s Behshad Behzadi, the number of voice searches is growing every day. In fact, it’s increasing faster than any other search type. Google reports that 55% of teens and 40% of adults use voice search daily.

Voice search requires a whole new keyword research approach: Voice searchers use normal, conversational sentences instead of the odd sounding query lingo. So, writing in simple English must be on your to-do list!

SEO Metrics #2: Organic Traffic

What is organic traffic?

According to Omniconvert, The term “organic traffic” refers to the people or visitors that land on your website as a result of unpaid (“organic”) search results. It is the exact opposite of paid traffic. This traffic visits your website through a direct search on browsers like Google, Bing or Yahoo! They are not referred to your website. Organic traffic is what marketers struggle to boost. In fact, the main purpose of SEO is to increase organic traffic. That is the goal.

How to track organic traffic

You can easily track your organic traffic using Google Analytics, and you are probably already doing it. The real challenge here is increasing the organic traffic and optimizing the data or reports created by Google Analytics.

How to increase organic traffic

Organic Traffic is directly proportionate to the ranking for competitive keywords. The higher the ranking, better the traffic.(sentence for graphics) Websites that blog every day see a substantial growth in organic search traffic. Companies that blog at regular intervals and often, like every Tuesday and Friday, also earn more organic search traffic.

Here at Convirza, we saw 514% more activity on our website when blogs were posted daily for 50 days. Also, our search results position improved dramatically.

Optimizing reports to improve organic traffic

If you are planning to write and promote your website content on a regular basis, you can use the data from reports to track results and correlate these efforts to actual ROI. Google Analytics tells you details about web visitors, but what happens if they call? Unless you have technology in place, you lose the visitor information.

With Convirza’s reporting system, you know the exact source of each visitor. You know what drove them to your website. You know which form they completed, and ultimately which “Thank You Page” they read before calling. Convirza’s reports can be consolidated with the Google Analytics reports to give you exactly what you need.

Just a fact check: We can customize your reports in 24 different formats! To ease your analysis, get demanding today.

SEO Metrics #3: Bounce Rate

What is Bounce Rate?

Bounce rate is typically defined as “the percentage of visitors who visit a single page on a website.” According to Google, bounce rate is the percentage of visitors to a particular website who navigate away from the site after viewing only one page.

Why does this happen? What is so scary about your site that drives people away?

Is it a slow load time?

People give up after 3 seconds!

Is it the improper placement of content or is your content hard to understand?

If visitors cannot spot the content by scanning the headlines or subheadings, they will not take the time to search your site. Also, remember that your content needs to quickly convince your visitors that you know their problems and have a simple solution for it.

Have you targeted the wrong audience?

For instance, if your landing page is selling brand new cars and you advertise cars sales throughout the state. You might get great website traffic but many of the visitors will leave because they are for used cars in another part of the state.

Are you making grammatical or spelling mistakes?

Visitors are looking for any reason not to buy what you are selling or give you their personal information and credit card. Use spell check and an editor. Don’t give people judgment material.

Are your landing pages ugly?

Landing pages are the connection between search and AdWord traffic. Visitors need and expect a comfortable place to land. So custom landing pages are a good interface. Don’t make your visitors feel confused or worse,scammed.

Whatever the reasons, they can be surely taken care of and without delay. You just need to identify them the reasons behind your bounce rates. Google wants to satisfy users, which is why it doesn’t want searchers getting frustrated when they can’t find answers. If too many of your website visitors click the back button and choose another result, your rank will get fall.

How to track your Bounce Rate

Again, Google Analytics is the answer. All the Google Analytics reports are handy to identify the reasons behind your bounce rate. If you combine Google Analytics with Convirza’s call tracking, you will not only know the point which scares off your visitor, but you will also know the exact point of conversion for each visitor.

A high bounce rate isn’t always bad, as it can mean that while the visitor didn’t travel deeper into a site, he did spend some time on the page and got an answer to his question. He may have bookmarked the page or shared it on Facebook, but since he didn’t read more, it constitutes a bounce.

Without call tracking, you don’t know if the visitor bounce was actually good. Visitors often leave the website and call the business directly. When people need answers quickly, and they are genuinely interested, they call. Learn more about Measuring ROI with Call Tracking.

Conclusion

With these top 3 SEO metrics to track, you also know how Convirza can help you track them. Tracking is not the last step but a marketing strategy. What is important is improving your market value with these SEO metrics. Convirza can help with your marketing attribution and analytics. To learn how, check out our next blog.

With these top 3 SEO metrics to track, you also know how Convirza can help you track them. Tracking is not the last step but a marketing strategy. What is important is improving your market value with these SEO metrics. Convirza can help with your marketing attribution and analytics. To learn how check out our next blog.

[…] Create unique content. Google loves fresh content. If you would like to learn more about SEO ideas and strategies, check out these helpful articles: 5 Steps for Creating Awesome SEO, 2 Week SEO with Google Analytics Expert, and Top 3 SEO Metrics to Track in 2018. […]